Posted by: AtlasMD

August 27, 2014

Time Begets Quality, DPC is the Key to Utilizing FitBit Data.

Venture Beat recently released an article expounding on all the reasons doctors don’t want data from health wearables like Fitbit. Among those reasons? Not enough time to analyze, and no proven system to analyze it in.

One higher-up explains: “Doctors would love to be excited about wearables — they’re gadget guys at heart — but their day-to-day is spent battling 30 year old fax machines to get your last lab report.” says Jeff Tangney, CEO of Doximity, which makes a social communication platform for clinicians. “For a busy doctor, the ability to use email would save more lives than a Fitbit.”

Atlas MD’s Dr. Josh told his side of the story in an interview with The Daily Beast. His view looks completely different from that of docs who shudder at the thought of more data. He not only cares about his patient’s FitBit data, but welcomes it. He finds this information so useful, he’s integrated fitness app tracking into his EMR software (that also handles emails, in case you were wondering) to better communicate with his patients about the one thing that matters most – their health.  Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

June 16, 2014

When Will Technology Actually Transform Healthcare?

“Health care is overwhelmed by “fast, cheap, and out of control” technologies,” writes Joe Flower.

Every new device will revolutionize healthcare, right? We hear this all the time. And, to be fair, we’re tech nerds here in the Atlas MD office.

However, we have a major caveat to our passion for healthcare tech.

In our case, we are excited about iterating on our EMR that eliminates the waste in your direct care practice.

And by eliminating the waste in your practice, we’re helping you to re-imagine how you get paid in your practice.

Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

June 6, 2014

What’s New In Atlas.md EMR?

Atlas.md EMR rolled out some new updates. Besides the improved features listed below, we also strengthened security measures to ensure better compliance with HIPAA standards.

Manage Your Shared Appointment Resources
Now your clinic can manage resources that they share in the practice facilities, such as a procedure room or a piece of equipment.

  • First, go to your Calendar page
  • Next, use the cog menu to add new resources (training facility, procedure room, portable EKG monitior, etc.)
  • Whenever you add an appointment, mark the resource you plan to use
  • Atlas.md EMR will alert you if there are any scheduling conflicts

Improved Search Feature
We built a new search engine to help you complete advanced searches, fast.

Redesigned Online Bill Pay
Now Atlas.md EMR’s Pay Online page works aesthetically with your own clinic’s logo. It also gives your patients quick access to all of their past invoices.

Universal Autocomplete Support
The autocomplete feature works wherever you enter text in Atlas.md EMR.

New “Do-Not-Refill-Before” Notices On Prescriptions
Now when you fax Rx and refills to pharmacies, your clinic will be more compliant with regulations.

To follow up on suggestions from pharmacists we’ve been talking to, now if a prescription has a DEA controlled drug and that drug can be refilled, we display a “Do not refill before MM-DD-YYYY” notice for the pharmacists.

New Medication Savings Included In Patient Invoices
Now your patients can see the value they’re saving in ordering medications from your pratice’s inventory. We use the GoodRx database, which gives accurate prices in pharmacies all over the country (see example below of what your patients will see).

More Batch Actions When Billing
Now you can use batch actions when you are billing companies, e.g. print or email a batch of invoices, or print a batch of envelope labels instead of going one by one

Thanks for sharing your feedback with us. Keep it coming so we can make Direct Care’s EMR that much better.

Posted by: AtlasMD

June 4, 2014

Prescription Prices Are Too Damn High

Our nation loves prescriptions.

According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center, “Nearly 70% of Americans take one prescription drug and more than half take two.”

It gets better. Approximately 20% of Americans use at least five prescription medications. Imagine the cost savings if Direct Care doctors directly prescribed a majority of these at wholesale prices.

Prescription drug use has been increasing steadily in the U.S. for the last ten years.

So what drugs are being prescribed, and why?

Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

May 21, 2014

Atlas.md EMR Security Update — Patient Opt-In

Atlas.md EMR operates free from HIPAA regulation, and free from government scrutiny.

Instead patients are in the power seat to communicate as THEY see fit with their physicians.

When patients enroll, they can opt in to receive communications over non-HIPAA-compliant methods.

These non-HIPAA-compliant methods include confidential communications via SMS, email and Twitter DMs, and also general billing conducted via email.

Unless users check to allow these features, no private information will be communicated in any of these manners.

However, Atlas.md EMR will send emails to patients regarding billing, e.g. invoices, confirmation of payments, confirmation of refunds, and more.

Invoices, to the best of Atlas.md EMR’s abilities, will never contain any sensitive or compromising information.

Posted by: AtlasMD

May 18, 2014

When Direct Care Works It WORKS.

Transitioning from insurance-based care into Direct Care isn’t a walk in the park. Cutting the red tape is not necessarily about EASE.

It’s about AFFECT. Affecting patients lives, affecting our own lives as doctors and business owners. It’s about having a stake in the work we do, and being rewarded for doing it well.

Here’s an earnest email from Mary Wulfers. She’s helping her husband run his newly opened Direct Care practice.

We’re really busy. Mike has about 130 new patients and they all seem to want a physical right away, so he’s really really busy. Around 170-180 patients transferred from his old practice, and we’ve obtained and built all those charts as well. I continue to work full time at the office and then some out of necessity, which is just fine. Younger families are really starting to sign up; it’s almost like the word has just gotten out. Last Monday was quite a day, had 17 new patients sign up and our nurse was out sick that day, too.This has been a very rewarding experience in so many ways but a lot of work, too. Out [sic] new website should be online soon, can’t wait to see it. Mike is really happy about some of the new patients he’s getting, some with poor insurance who are so excited to have a good doctor for the first time. How can you beat that?

Seriously, how CAN you beat that?

Posted by: AtlasMD

May 14, 2014

The ICD-10 Emperor Has No Clothes

They howled ICD-10 was delayed. And they howled loud and fierce.

Apparently, the life of U.S. healthcare hangs in the throes of 68,000 diagnosis codes.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world has switched to ICD-10. But here’s a secret. The World Health Organization’s version of ICD-10 has about 16,000 codes, equivalent to ICD-9-CM.

Let’s reiterate: The rest of the world is not using ICD-10-Clinical Modification set, which has 68,000 codes.

The Canadian version of ICD-10 has about 16,000 codes, but the physicians do not use those codes for billing and reimbursement. They use a more limited code set of about 600 three-digit codes.

Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

May 13, 2014

Dr. Doug Gets Down To Business In Minnesota

Dr. Dog Nunamaker leaves no stone unturned in his AAPS panel. Topics include the myth of health care insurance, the logistics of subscription-based medicine, and Atlas MD’s burgeoning success…

Posted by: AtlasMD

April 3, 2014

Ever Wondered What’s Been Causing All These Healthcare Security Breaches? It Could Be HIPAA’s Fault.

There’s been more than 30 million individuals affected by health data security breaches since 2009. These breaches are swiftly becoming a costly expense to healthcare organizations worldwide.

Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

December 16, 2013

The Third Medical Billing Option — DIY

Practitioners always need to decide how they’re going to get paid. Of course, if you’re in the fee-for-service world, your payment is inextricably linked to billing codes. But the goal is same for any doctor — garner maximum revenues with minimal costs while not compromising the quality of services. Let’s for now assume you haven’t transitioned to direct care. Your first option would be in-house billing.

Read more